RoguedexPart 1 (Sep 2023) · #13 of 35 in that tierWatch the moment (1:05:11)
Going Under
- Developed by
- Aggro Crab
- Published by
- Team17 Digital
$2.49
Going Under is a satirical dungeon crawler about exploring the cursed ruins of failed tech startups. As an unpaid intern in the dystopian city of Neo-Cascadia, you’ll wield office junk as weaponry as you make your way through the offbeat procedural dungeons beneath your company campus.
Consensus
B72.2/100
Steam players90.1% positiveVery Positive4,175 reviews
Metacritic ↗78/100Users: 7.3/10
VG Insights estimate ↗≈125K copies · ≈$1.5M gross
What creators say
Ranked Jun 2023 · #12 of 18 in that tierWatch the moment (0:47:25)
Ranked Apr 2023 · #17 of 30 in that tierWatch the moment (2:03:54)
What players say
A satirical action roguelite from Aggro Crab (published by Team17) where an unpaid intern fights through dungeons built from failed tech startups, using office junk as breakable weapons.
Players rate it Very Positive on Steam (about 90% of roughly 4,175 reviews) and critics were mostly favourable (Metacritic PC 78 from 11 reviews). Almost everyone agrees the art direction, writing and corporate-satire theming are the main draw. The action roguelite gameplay is the weak point: many reviews call the combat sluggish, shallow or janky, and the content thin. Commercially it underperformed: Wikipedia says Aggro Crab cancelled a planned extra dungeon because of poor base game sales. It is a complete, 2020-released game with a post-launch 'Working from Home' update, it is frequently discounted to around $2, and a recommend-on-sale verdict is common even among lukewarm reviewers.
Players love
- Sharp, funny satire of startup and gig-economy culture; several reviewers say it has aged well and will trigger flashbacks for anyone who worked at a startup
- Distinctive art direction that turns corporate clip-art/Memphis-style design into something charming rather than soulless, plus a solid soundtrack
- Charming, archetypal cast and witty dialogue; talking to coworkers between runs is a highlight
- Everything-is-a-weapon system: you pick up desks, office supplies and more to swing, throw or shoot, with a varied weapon pool
- Generous accessibility and difficulty options: an Assist mode and difficulty changes at any time without disabling achievements
- Choose-your-starting-item mechanic avoids runs ruined by a bad first pickup
- Good length that does not overstay its welcome (roughly 10 hours for a casual clear) and runs well, including on Steam Deck
- Boss fights and enemy/dungeon theming (three themed dungeons) praised as creative
Common complaints
- Combat described as floaty, sluggish and clunky: commitment to attack animations, slow dodges, imprecise hits, and enemies able to stun-lock you
- Cluttered, cramped rooms and exploding traps can make damage feel unfair rather than hard, with off-screen enemies hard to spot
- Thin content: only three dungeons, and the second half replays them in a hard mode, so many feel they saw everything in the first section
- Weapon durability means weapons break every few fights, which some find tedious rather than fun, and shields on many enemies make this worse late game
- Humour leans on dated memes and references for some reviewers, and characters lack depth
- Final boss and late game spikes are called out as frustrating or unfair
- Keyboard support is poor: controls cannot be rebound, and the weapon-switch keys are awkward; it plays best on controller
- Progression and unlocks feel unimpactful; runs feel samey and skill descriptions are unclear
- Sluggish, poorly optimized menus; one top negative review also says known bugs were never patched
Can feel tedious
- Long menu and loading sequence between death and the next run
- Constant weapon breakage and needing to spend scarce cash on food and healing in shops
- Repetition: hard mode repeats the same three dungeons, and runs feel similar
- Grinding for unlocks, with many skills described as pointless or unclear, which some players only finish by beating the game before unlocking everything
- Dodge and stun-lock frustration when crowds of enemies or explosions pile on in tight rooms
- Slow animations combined with imprecise weapons make fights feel like work
What's unique
- Dungeons are the ruins of failed tech startups, each themed on a parody of a startup archetype
- Breakable office-supply and furniture weapons you can also throw, instead of a fixed weapon loadout
- Mentor and coworker bonding system that unlocks abilities, tied into the narrative
- Corporate clip-art aesthetic with a mix of 2D and 3D art and gibberish-style voice work
- Narrative-first roguelite where the satire drives the structure, and the ending is widely praised by fans
- Assist and difficulty toggles that can be changed mid-game without penalty
Players want
- Add rebindable controls and better keyboard/mouse defaults, including an option to stop auto-pickup on dodge
- Speed up the post-run flow: multiple menus and loads before you can restart a run are a frequent complaint
- Tune combat: more responsive attacks and dodges, clearer enemy telegraphs, less unavoidable off-screen damage
- More content and variety: a fourth or fifth dungeon (the cancelled extra dungeon is the obvious gap) and less copy-paste in the hard-mode half
- Clearer perk and skill descriptions and more meaningful unlocks
- Camera improvements, or a locked isometric-style view, so furniture and walls do not hide threats
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Action RoguelikeDungeon CrawlerBeat 'em upRogue-liteHack and SlashFemale ProtagonistDifficultRogue-likeSouls-likeAction RPG
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Tier list Part 1 (2023)
Going Under is an action dungeon crawler roguelite with a heavy story focus, set in a corporate workplace where you play an intern. Its signature gimmick is that you can pick up almost any object in a room and use it as a weapon. He loves the art, music and humor and had a blast, but sees it as a one-and-done campaign with little reason to return after the story ends. He mentions some bugginess. Overall he recommends it and places it at the high end of B.
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